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Home / Washington Business - September/October 2004 / Made in Washington: Air Force One |
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Made in Washington: Air Force One |
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Written On: September/October 2004 |
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Written By: by Charles Henry Thomas |
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Just mention the words “Air Force One” and people immediately envision the 747 that ferries the President of the United States around the world.
Few products carry such instant visual recognition as the identical twin jumbo jets built at Boeing’s mammoth plant near Everett in the late 1980s.
Technically, Air Force One is the call sign for either SAM 28000 or SAM 29000 —the tail numbers assigned to the aircraft — when the current President is on board, but to anyone who sees either of these two special birds, they are Air Force One.
SAM stands for Special Air Mission, and the most famous illustration of that point was on Aug. 9, 1974, when President Nixon resigned his presidency and boarded Air Force One for the trip home to California. As the aircraft approached the Mississippi River, Gerald Ford was sworn in as President and the pilot immediately radioed flight controllers with the new call sign: SAM 27000.
SAM 27000 was the last of the Boeing 707s to serve as Air Force One.
Boeing Becomes Exclusive Presidential Aircraft Provider
Boeing’s entry into the presidential air fleet dates back to the 1960s. President John F. Kennedy ordered two specially-outfitted 707s in 1961 with the first delivery taken in October 1962. Just over a year later, SAM 26000 would fly Kennedy to Dallas where he was assassinated, have Lyndon Johnson sworn in on board as President and carry President Kennedy’s body back to the nation’s capitol — all in one unforgettable day.
It was in the Kennedy era that the presidential aircraft became Air Force One and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy was charged with the basic design of the exterior paint scheme. She, in turn, commissioned noted designer Raymond Loewy, who created the Studebaker Avanti, devised the paint scheme for the Pennsylvania Railroad and Greyhound bus, and designed the Coca Cola and Ritz cracker logos.
The 707s, made in Seattle, served the Presidents well, but when one visits the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field in Seattle and tours the Air Force One used by Johnson, it is easy to see how cramped the quarters really were.
During President Ronald Reagan’s term, military planners started the search for a 707 replacement. At first it considered Lockheed’s L-1011 and McDonald Douglas’ DC-10, but each had only three jet engines. Their specifications called for four engines, and only the Boeing 747 could meet that requirement.
747 Carried President Reagan’s Body Back to California
Boeing was awarded the $251 million contract for two specially-outfitted 747s and delivery was set for January 1989, just in time to fly President Reagan home to California after he left office. The deadline was not met, and President Reagan’s first flight in the new Air Force One did not occur until June 2004, when one of the same two 747s flew Reagan’s casket and family to Washington, DC, for a time of mourning and memorials and then back to California for burial.
No official reason was given for the delivery date being pushed ahead to 1990, but costs soared to over $400 million because of modifications. Finally, the first aircraft arrived at Andrews Air Force Base on Aug. 23 followed by the second on Dec. 20, which was about halfway through President George H.W. Bush’s term.
Presidents from Kennedy to George W. Bush have called Air Force One the “Flying White House.” While it is a essential requirement of the office today, it also is a presidential perk which is unequalled. Just as kids dream of scoring the winning bucket at the horn in the national championship basketball game, politicians drool at the chance to be the one popping out the door of Air Force One while a military band plays Hail to the Chief.
Finally, as the Air Force upgraded its fleet, Boeing delivered what has become known as Air Force Two, the call sign for vice president. In 1998, it delivered a series of four specially-modified 757s built at Boeing’s Renton plant which have a similar paint scheme as Air Force One. They are the workhorses of the diplomatic corps, carrying high-ranking government officials and members of Congress to various parts of the world.
SIDEBAR
Roosevelt was First President to Fly... But Which One?
Did you know that President Roosevelt was the first president to fly in an airplane? But which President Roosevelt —Theodore or Franklin? That depends!
On Oct. 11, 1910, Theodore flew in a Wright Type-B biplane over St. Louis, but he was not in office at the time. He had left the presidency in 1909. The first official flight by a sitting President was in January 1943 when Franklin D. Roosevelt flew from Miami to Casablanca, Morocco, for a meeting with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The aircraft was a Boeing Model 314 seaplane on loan from Pan American World Airways.
FDR’s official aircraft was a modified Consolidated B-24D Liberator, although he never flew in it. It was named Guess Where II and it flew First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in 1943. In 1944, FDR took delivery of a Douglas C-54 known as Sacred Cow.
President Harry S. Truman retired the Sacred Cow and replaced it in 1947 with a Douglas DC-6 known as the Independence. It was replaced by a Lockheed C-121 Constellation named Columbine II when Dwight D. Eisenhower took office in 1953.
The name Air Force One was introduced with the Kennedy presidency, although the call sign “Air Force One” was adopted in 1956 when the Columbine II, which used the call sign “Air Force 610,” was confused with “Eastern Flight 610” on an approach to Washington (DC) National Airport (now Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport). No mishap occurred, but thereafter any aircraft carrying the President was always called Air Force One.
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